(no subject)
Why do shows, especially science fiction shows, never show a sort of...physical progression to their characters? There's basically death or physical reset. No one changes physically until they're just gone.
I bring this up because I'm currently watching tonight's Fringe. It's an "over there" episode, meaning this one takes place in the alternate universe. There are characters that you know aren't "our" characters because they have scars, burns, and such to make them look different.
But science fiction is about people facing dangerous and deadly new forms of technology or threats. I can accept a machine that cracks into an alternate universe or a man that can travel through time. It strains my suspension of disbelief, though, when none of these characters ever have anything PERMANENT happen to them.
I get it's a cost-cutting thing. In an ongoing show, a lot of makeup to do scars and injuries and such would take both time and money. But honestly, how can characters avoid physical damage when they're actively investigating these things for YEARS?
Think Star Trek Voyager. It's a ship in an uncharted area of space, with no hope of reinforcement from Starfleet, and only limited supplies on board. They were fighting new aliens, encountering new anomalies, experimenting with new technologies, and discovering new diseases for SEVEN FUCKING YEARS. No one loses a leg? Or gets burned? Or goes blind?
It would be interesting to see a science fiction series that actually shows a physical change in its characters as the show progresses. Lose an eye or a finger or something. Geez.
I bring this up because I'm currently watching tonight's Fringe. It's an "over there" episode, meaning this one takes place in the alternate universe. There are characters that you know aren't "our" characters because they have scars, burns, and such to make them look different.
But science fiction is about people facing dangerous and deadly new forms of technology or threats. I can accept a machine that cracks into an alternate universe or a man that can travel through time. It strains my suspension of disbelief, though, when none of these characters ever have anything PERMANENT happen to them.
I get it's a cost-cutting thing. In an ongoing show, a lot of makeup to do scars and injuries and such would take both time and money. But honestly, how can characters avoid physical damage when they're actively investigating these things for YEARS?
Think Star Trek Voyager. It's a ship in an uncharted area of space, with no hope of reinforcement from Starfleet, and only limited supplies on board. They were fighting new aliens, encountering new anomalies, experimenting with new technologies, and discovering new diseases for SEVEN FUCKING YEARS. No one loses a leg? Or gets burned? Or goes blind?
It would be interesting to see a science fiction series that actually shows a physical change in its characters as the show progresses. Lose an eye or a finger or something. Geez.